Walking and Healthy Aging: Top 4 Benefits for Over 50s
Getting out and going for a walk is on of the best things you can do for healthy aging. It’s free, low impact, can be for social time or catching up on audiobooks or podcasts, and is amazing for mental and physical wellbeing. Walking at a moderate intensity for extended periods of time is a great form of exercise that is available to almost everybody!
Moderate Intensity Walking
When we say moderate intensity walking, we mean walking at a pace that you can maintain for at least 30 minutes. Moderate intensity walking gets the heart rate, breathing rate and body temperature up slightly but noticeably. You should be able to maintain conversation if you were walking with a friend and maybe get a slight sweat going. A good way to visualise moderate intensity walking is - you’re walking at a pace like you would if you were running late to an important meeting, that is, quite brisk but not so fast that you’re jogging.
Here are our top 4 reasons why you lace up your joggers and start scheduling brisk walking regularly into your week.
1. Mental Wellbeing
There’s a reason this is number one on the list. Getting outside and going for a walk does wonders for our mental health. As we get older we tend to start spending a larger portion of our time inside and around the house. Putting aside time to get out of the house and go for a walk gives your eyes and mind a break from seeing the same four walls all day.
It puts you out in nature. There’s a reason why mental health experts recommend being in nature as a way to help combat feelings of depression, anxiety and stress. Walking outside puts you in a different headspace, can help give mental clarity or a new perspective to a problem, and simply help to put us in the present moment with sounds and sights to help focus our attention.
It’s also the perfect opportunity to catch up with a friend. Being active and social with others combines the benefits of physical activity and socialising - the perfect way to help improve mental wellbeing.
2. Cardiovascular Health
As people get older, in particular over 50, their heart health and circulation tend to decline. Less general physical activity and other lifestyle choices like poor nutrition cause the heart to become weaker and arteries to get stiffer. These things make someone more likely to develop a health condition like heart disease or hypertension. In the most extreme cases it can lead to a sudden harmful event like a stroke or a heart attack.
Brisk walking is great for heart health, especially for people over 50. Regular walking at a brisk pace can improve heart health, circulation and arterial function, which can lower the risk of health problems like heart disease or high blood pressure, and reduce risk of heart attack or stroke. Because of these benefits, it's important for older adults to make walking a regular part of their daily routine to keep their hearts healthy and feel better overall.
3. Metabolic Health
Brisk walking is a great way for over 50s to better manage their blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Doing long periods of sustained activity like walking, cycling or swimming puts our large muscle groups and our cardiovascular system to work. Working our muscles, heart and circulation for long periods at a time help our metabolism to use blood sugars and fatty acids for fuel and exercise, rather than have it stay in our body where it can cause harm.
What’s more, the more intense the exercise, the longer these benefits last after our walk. Doing some intermittent walking up hills or walking on sand puts the muscles to work harder, which can have longer lasting positive benefits on our metabolic health long after the walk has ended.
4. Bone and Muscle Health
There are many natural processes of physical decline as we age. Muscle and bone health are two of them. Pair that with the tenancy to do less strenuous activity in later years and the natural process starts to accelerate. Brisk walking is a great way to slow down the natural decline of lower body muscle and bone health in older adults.
Long walks at a brisk pace means plenty of foot impact with the ground, particularly on hard surfaces. These repeated stints of foot-ground impact can help to maintain ligament, tendon, bone and muscle health in the legs, hips and spine. However, this may be difficult for people with lower body injuries or health conditions such as arthritis, as long periods of walking on hard surfaces can cause pain. Walking on softer surfaces like grass or sand can provide great benefits for muscle health without causing pain, for people dealing with pain when walking on hard surfaces for long periods.
This blog is brought to you by Community Fit Over 50s. If you’re over 50 and want to start exercising for your health and wellbeing, contact us by following the link below.
